Gov. Baker: Concert security will be upped after Manchester attack

Tuesday

May 23, 2017 at 1:11 PMMay 23, 2017 at 7:04 PM

By Matt Murphy/STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

With thousands of concert-goers expected to descend on the Boston Calling music festival this weekend, Gov. Charlie Baker said there are no current threats of venues being targeted for violence, but urged residents to remain "vigilant" following the deadly attack Monday night at a concert in Manchester, England.

"First of all, our hearts go out to everybody who was involved in that. I have three kids who are in their 20s. If they had been there, that's exactly the kind of event, the kind of concert, they would have been at," Baker told reporters on Tuesday.

A bomb detonated just outside a Manchester arena at the conclusion of an Ariana Grande concert Monday, killing 22 people and injuring dozens more in an attack for which the Islamic State has claimed responsibility.

Baker said he spoke Tuesday morning to the British consul general and "just expressed my sadness and my concern on behalf of the people of the commonwealth" and offered any assistance the state might be able to provide.

"Just another example of why we need to continue to be vigilant as a country and as a community about domestic terrorism," Baker said.

Baker said state, federal and local law enforcement agencies communicate regularly about potential threats here, and echoed city officials who said Tuesday that additional precautions will be taken ahead of the Memorial Day weekend music festival at the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston.

"People talked all night last night just to be sure there wasn't any concern with respect to a threat here in the commonwealth and there isn't, but we're taking additional precautions across our public transportation systems and at the airport just to be sure," Baker said.

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans told the Boston Globe Tuesday that there would be additional patrols around concert venues in response to the attack.

"Obviously we're going to be taking additional precautions with respect to concerts generally. I know the folks in the city around the Boston Calling concerts have already talked about that and I'm sure this will just encourage them to up their game with respect to that as well," Baker said.